2 arrested in Bungoma with elephant tusks
Two persons of interest have been arrested in Cheptais, Bungoma County, after being found in possession of elephant tusks.
The arrests were made through a joint operation between officers from the Cheptais Police Station and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers based in Kitale.
According to a statement released on Sunday, June 15, the operation was based on intelligence that led the officers to intercept the persons of interest at Cheptais Kipsis junction on Saturday, June 14, who were transporting the tusks concealed in a blue sack on a motorcycle. The duo was apprehended before they could escape with the illegal wildlife product.
“On 14 June 2025, police officers from Cheptais Police Station, in collaboration with Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers from Kitale, acted on intelligence and apprehended two at Cheptais Kipsis Junction,” NPS stated.
The two are currently in police custody awaiting arraignment in court.
The National Police Service reaffirmed its commitment to collaborating with relevant agencies and stakeholders in protecting the country’s wildlife and natural heritage.
”They were intercepted while transporting two elephant tusks concealed in a blue sack on a motorcycle. They are currently in police custody, pending arraignment in court. The National Police Service reaffirms its commitment to working with relevant agencies to protect Kenya’s wildlife and natural heritage,” NPS added.
A photo shared on social media showed the two outside Cheptais Police Station, standing beside the seized tusks and the motorcycle used in the transport. Their faces were blurred to protect their identity as investigations continue.
Measures against poaching
In 2013, Kenya imposed stringent measures to control the trade in ivory tusks, among other banned items, ostensibly to protect rhinos and elephants from poachers.
The Kenya Wildlife Conservation Act of 2013 stipulates a maximum fine of Ksh20 million or life imprisonment for perpetrators found guilty of killing elephants and rhinos for trophy items.
The Act classifies the African elephant as an endangered species due to poaching, which threatens its existence, with Kenya having led the ban on game hunting to contain the vice.
Ivory tusk ban
While the ivory trade was banned in 1989 at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the underground trafficking of the items has continued, fuelled by a demand for the products in Asia and the Middle East.
KWS statistics indicate that in the 1970s and early 1980s, the nation’s elephant count was estimated at 170,000 individuals, but this dropped sharply to 16,000 elephants by the end of 1989 due to international demand for ivory.
Through the government’s continued interventions, including legal and policy measures, the downward trend has been reversed, resulting in the national elephant population shooting up by more than five per cent to the current 36,000 by August 2023.
